Don’t you just love when you’re baking something, A LOT of something- and you forget an ingredient???

A couple months ago, when I was like 36 weeks pregnant (that was probably the problem right there ;) ), I decided to make a bunch of banana muffins. I had 12 bananas that were getting desperate, and I thought it would be a fun activity to do with my little ones! Plus, I could freeze a bunch of muffins for after baby, so it was just going to be a good thing all around!

My kids had a blast helping me mash the bananas, mix all the dry ingredients, and taking turns stirring and mixing the batter. We were all looking forward to biting into some light, fluffy muffins (I had made this recipe before and knew it was a tasty one). When the time finally came to pull the muffins out of the oven, something didn’t seem right. The muffins I had made the previous week were big and fluffy, and these had hardly grown in size. At first, I figured I must have not added enough batter to each muffin tin in my attempt to stretch the batter as far as I could. But when the second batch turned out the same, I realized I must have missed something. I scrolled back through the recipe, and realized with dismay that I had completely forgotten the baking soda- the only rising agent the entire recipe called for.

Part of me wanted to start crying (thank you, pregnancy hormones), but part of me had to laugh and say “That’s what I get for baking with 3 little ones and a pregnant brain!”. I figured they would probably still taste sweet, so why not give them a try? My kids and I dug in- and I was actually really pleased with the results! The muffins were definitely not light and fluffy- they were dense, and thick and chewy- right up my alley when it comes to baked goods! My kids devoured theirs, and then my 5 year old son said “We should just always forget that ingredient”. Haha, he definitely approved. I’m just grateful we forgot the baking soda, and not something a little more crucial like the sugar or flour!!

I learned a couple things from this experience: baking soda may be crucial in some recipes, but definitely not all. It might even be good to experiment a little sometimes, because you might be pleasantly surprised with what happens! I also learned that if I’m going to bake with a 5 year old, a 3 year old, and a 22 month old, I should probably re-check that all the ingredients were added- like 3 or 4 times, just to be safe ;). And I learned that one should probably not try to quadruple a recipe when one is 36 weeks pregnant ;).

I’ve included the recipe here for you, and if you decide to try it without the baking soda, I’d love to hear what you think about it!

Add Recipe to Cook'n

Have you ever had a baking experience where something horrible actually turned into something tasty? I mean, that’s how the chocolate chip cookie was invented, so I know it happens :). I’d love to hear your experiences!